This invention relates to improvements for powered seat lifts, including pneumatic seat lifts, and similar devices which are intended for persons who need assistance when sitting down or standing up and relates to the component parts of such assistance devices.
A high percentage of muscular dystrophy, multiple sclerosis, spinal injury and stroke patients may benefit significantly from the independence provided by a seat lift which permits them to regain a standing position, after having been seated, without the assistance of others. A seat lift, when used in nursing homes, hospitals, physical therapy facilities and private homes, can reduce back injuries to healthcare workers or family members who assist a physically impaired person in rising from a seated position.
One method of constructing a seat lift employs a pneumatically operated bellows fitting between, for example, a seat cushion and the structure that would normally support that cushion. A remote source of air serves to inflate the bellows smoothly lifting the person seated on the cushion. An air source, with providing as little as 2 psig, can readily lift a large adult with as little as a square foot of bellows surface area. Such a system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,910 issued Dec. 27, 1994 by the same inventor as the present application and hereby incorporated by reference.